Microsoft CEO speaks
Steve Ballmer demonstrates new Surface device during presentation at School
Speaking to a London Business School audience on Monday 1 October, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said software can do magical things when coupled with the almost free intelligence available from computer hardware. But key to the company's success is the ability to attract and retain the best and the brightest people and to be able to foster innovation; for him as CEO, it was imperative he put a lot of energy into choosing and motivating them.
The audience - made up of students, alumni, staff, faculty and corporate partners - was also able to see Ballmer give one of the first demonstrations of Microsoft's exciting new device, Surface; the first commercial available surface computer which uses touch as the sole method of input.
Sharing his leadership philosophy with the audience, he focused on elements of leadership that were fundamental. As well as nurturing their people, leaders have to be flexible and adaptable and they have to be able to reduce complex issues to simple concepts. They have to deal with what he described as the ‘ying and yang' of business: accountability versus ambition, delegation versus intelligent discussion, optimism versus realism. Finally, he stressed the importance of a long-term approach. "Most business leaders take a short-term view", he said, "but the things that are most successful are crafted over years." As he reminded his audience, Windows 1.00 and 2.00 were not a success! "It is important not to give up too soon."
Responding to a question from alumnus Sanmit Ahuja (SEMBA2004), Head of Indian Affairs at the Commonwealth Business Council, about what the industry was doing to bring products to the millions of people at the bottom of the pyramid, Mr Ballmer said that people at the bottom of the pyramid needed to have products "by the drop" - at internet cafes or kiosks. But there were also many people in middle income groups; for them, the industry must continue to drive down prices and re-invent products so that they do not have to buy lots of individual devices.